Proof of Concept (POC)

A proof of concept is a small-scale test that demonstrates whether an AI application is technically feasible and valuable before investing in full deployment. POCs are useful for novel or complex AI applications where feasibility isn't clear. They're often misused for straightforward adoption programs — running a months-long POC before training your sales team to use a proposal generator introduces delay without proportional learning.

The decision to run a POC should be driven by genuine uncertainty about whether something is possible or valuable, not by caution or organizational inertia.